Uncle Reggie
by AnabelleBlack20
Summary: Alternate Universe. Harry has lived with Sirius for over a year now. He's grown fond of his Uncle Reggie as well. But, what happens when Sirius has to go out for a few days on an Auror mission? Can Regulus brave through the difficulties and challenges that he will have to face while taking care of a six year old?


**For those of you who are reading My Godfather, you'll will be able to understand and relate to this story more comfortably. It's not a part of the My Godfather universe but you will be able to relate better to Regulus' appearance in the story. It's an alternate universe actually.**

 **This is basically a fluffy little one shot between Harry and his uncle Reggie. Sirius has to go out for a few days. Can Regulus brave through the difficulties and challenges that he will have to face while taking care of a six year old?**

 **Read ahead!**

* * *

"Sirius, you're my brother and I would die for you but what you ask of me is something a little too difficult. I can't do it." Sirius rolled his eyes at his younger brother. "Stop being such a drama queen. It's just for three days. I'll be back before you know it."

"I'm sorry but I can't do it." Regulus protested. "Honestly Regulus, I'm asking you to look after a child, not fight a dragon. Besides, you like Harry. He's known you for over a year now. It's not hard at all." Sirius persuaded. He had to go on an Auror mission. He couldn't send anyone else since it was top secret.

"Not hard? Why me? Why can't your furry friend do it?" Asked Reg. "We've already been over this. The full moon is in two days. Look, I rarely ask you to do anything for me. I need you take care of Harry. He's only six. You both are going to be just fine. You're doing it. That's settled." That's when Regulus knew there was no getting out of this; because he was well accustomed to his brother's stubbornness.

Its not that he didn't like the boy, because he did. Taking care of kids just wasn't his thing. He played with Harry quite often; bought him nice things and stuff, but the other parts were completely Sirius' responsibility. He had no idea how he was going to manage. "It won't be hard. I'll even give you a list of things you need to do. Besides, Harry isn't a difficult child. He's really nice and quiet." Said Sirius.

"DADDY!" Sirius smiled when he heard the six year old bounding into the living room. _Quiet?_ His brother mouthed the word to him. "Hey little one," he greeted, lifting the boy into his arms the moment Harry was inside. His son wrapped his thin arms around his neck and rested his head against Sirius, shoulder. "Hey Uncle Reggie."

Sirius ran his hand through the boy's hair and turned to Regulus and gave him a look that said: _you're doing this_. Sighing, the other man nodded. "Hey Harry, guess what? It's just you and me for the next couple of days." He said.

The boy looked at him curiously and then at Sirius. "Daddy, you're going away?" He asked, looking unhappy with the mere idea. He'd lived with Sirius for more than a year and within that time, he'd become very attached to him. "Just for a few days, pup. Uncle Reggie's going to take care of you."

"Promise you'll come back?" Harry asked, giving Sirius that adorable pout. "Pinky promise." Sirius replied and held out his little finger. The boy immediately locked his own tiny finger with his father's. "I'll even bring back a little something for you if you're good." Sirius watched as the boy's eyes sparkled with joy. "I'll be extra good." He promised. "I have no doubt you will."

The next day, Sirius was ready to leave. He waved his wand over his suitcase and transported it downstairs. His son was already in the living room, playing with some Quidditch figurines. When he saw Sirius, he got up at once and practically jumped on him. Sirius however, had grown used to such advances and so; he caught the boy midway and swung him around.

"You'll be good, won't you?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded, burying his face into the crook of his father's neck. Although Sirius would be gone for only a while, three days seemed like an awfully long time for little Harry. He'd never been away from Sirius for so long. Throughout his life with the Dursleys, the one thing he had grossly missed out on was a sense of safety and security. For the little boy, Sirius was that security. "I'll miss you," he whispered.

The man pulled back and kissed his forehead. "I'll be back before you know it." Harry hugged the man tightly once more, before reluctantly letting go.

"Bye, kiddo. I love you. Bye Reggie," said Sirius, clapping his brother's shoulder who nodded back with a smile. "Bye, Daddy," Harry replied. With a crack, the man left. Regulus looked at the boy who would be under his charge for the next couple of days.

He could do this. He had done harder things in his life before. Taking care of a six year old couldn't be that hard, right?

* * *

"Harry, come and put on your pyjamas." Said Regulus, for the third time. "No! I'm not sleepy yet." Harry replied, bouncing on his bed. The man shut his eyes in exasperation. He'd never have thought that this angelic little boy could have been so difficult to handle.

Harry was such a gem all the time. But then, it _was_ Sirius who always took care of him. He didn't know how his brother had so much patience. He was losing it already and not even twenty four hours had passed. "Yes, I know you're not sleepy in the least but I'm absolutely exhausted. So be a good one and come here." Regulus nearly pleaded as he held out Harry's night clothes.

After another ten minutes of persuasion, encouragement and bribery, he was able to wrestle Harry into his pyjamas. "Alright then, goodnight." Said Regulus, getting ready to go to his own room. He stopped when Harry gave him a look of pure shock. "What?"

"You can't- You cant just leave like that, Uncle Reggie. It's story time." Harry insisted. "Story time? You want a story?" Harry nodded eagerly. Regulus wanted to refuse since his eyelids were all but drooping; but he took one look at that eager face and knew that he wouldn't be able to.

He looked at the collection of children's stories that was stacked in the bookshelf—both muggle as well as magic. "Which one do you want?" He asked. "Winnie the Pooh." Harry replied excitedly. Regulus raised an eyebrow at the rather odd title before taking the book and moving to sit on the bed. He wondered why anyone would write children's stories based on an expression of disdain or disgust.

Harry immediately climbed into his lap and snuggled up against him. The boy grabbed his arm and draped it over his middle. Regulus wasn't the sort of person who cuddled. In fact, the only person he had hugged on a somewhat regular basis was his brother. Still, he allowed the boy to snuggle.

"So, uh, deep in the hundred acre wood, there lived a bear called-"

"Uncle Reggie! That's not how you read it. Pooh is a happy bear; so you need to read the story in a happy voice. That's how Daddy does it." Harry pointed out, not liking the monotone voice in which Regulus was reading the story. "Say it like Daddy." Said Harry, looking at Regulus with those large green eyes.

"Alright! Deep in the hundred... and so he went to collect honey."

"Wait! Don't flip the page yet! I didn't look at the picture." Harry protested, turning the page back. "There you go. Look at it all you like," Regulus said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. He had never known that children could be so bloody hard to handle.

Finally, Regulus managed to finish the story without losing his temper. He made sure Harry got to look at every single picture for as long as he wanted and read it in an all too happy voice. "Goodnight," he said, placing Harry on the bed and getting up. "Uncle Reggie?"

"Now what is it?" Regulus was feeling tired and he wanted nothing more than to get to bed. "Daddy always gives me a goodnight kiss." Said Harry and Regulus sensed the request behind the words. On a general basis, he didn't like kids. They were too much work; but somehow, he'd come to like Harry. If anyone asked, he'd deny it vehemently but for the time being, with uncharacteristic gentleness, he pulled the covers over the boy's small form, ruffled his hair and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "Goodnight, kiddo." He mumbled quietly. "G' night Uncle Reggie. I love you."

He'd never admit it to anyone- maybe just his brother- but those three little words uttered by the boy gave him enough happiness to produce a million patronus. Regulus wasn't the sort of person who showed much emotion. Throughout his childhood, he'd learnt only one thing- emotions are a sign of weakness. He'd never let anyone in for fear of being weak.

Yet, this little green eyed bundle had somehow managed to wriggle his way into his heart. _Damn it, Black. You're getting soft._ Shaking his head, Regulus walked out of the room after casting one fond look at the boy buried under the covers.

* * *

... _Acht, neun, zehn_. Regulus finished counting to ten for the fourth time in four different languages. It was taking every bit of self-restraint to not yell at the boy.

"But I don't like carrots!" Harry whined for the fifth time. Regulus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did such tantrums never come up when Sirius was around? Sirius just had a certain way of doing things and Harry always listened to him. _Why, why in the world did he have to be so difficult today?_

"Harry, you need to eat them. They're very good for you." He insisted, again . He took back his previous observation of Harry being a perfect angel. The boy was a perfect little rascal! "I don't want it!" Harry protested, crossing his arms. _How did Sirius do it?_

"Well, you're not leaving the table until you finish what's on your plate." Said Regulus firmly. Stubbornly, Harry shook his head and shoved his plate away, causing some of the food to spill. _That does it_. "Harry James Potter, you're going to finish your food like a nice child or I swear, I'll put you in the corner." Regulus warned the boy sternly, having finally lost his temper.

Harry's frown abruptly faded at that statement. His lower lip wobbled slightly at the threat of being sent to the corner. "I don't want a timeout," he said quietly. "Then, be a good boy and finish your lunch." Regulus stated in a much calmer tone. _Finally_. With much reluctance, Harry pulled the plate towards himself and began to eating.

When the boy looked up and gave him a sad faced expression; Regulus nearly felt guilty for scolding the child. "If you want, we can go to the park after lunch." He offered, wanting to get rid of that miserable expression on Harry's face.

Almost immediately, Harry's face broke into a wide, toothy smile and he began spooning down his food with renewed vigour.

The park was a lot of fun. As he pushed Harry on the swing, he smiled to himself as he heard the little boy shout joyfully at no one in particular. He then realised why Sirius always did nice little things for Harry every now and then. The pure, innocent happiness that lit up Harry's features made all the difference. "Whoo!" Harry yelled as Regulus gave him an especially high swing.

Yes, the littlest of things always mattered the most.

* * *

Regulus nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a somewhat timid tap on his shoulder; in the middle of the night. He opened his eyes to find large green orbs blinking at him. "Harry? What are you doing here?" He asked, sitting up a bit. He'd had three long days.

Although he was incredibly fond of the little troublemaker before him; he really wanted to sleep. He'd endeavoured a lot of tasks in the duration of seventy two hours; tasks that would make hardened criminals run for their lives. That's right. He had fed, bathed, clothed and entertained this six year old who happened to possess a tremendous amount of energy for someone so tiny.

"I had... I had a bad dream." Harry confessed, looking scared. _Uh oh._ Regulus wasn't good at this. Providing comfort was Sirius' department. He had absolutely no idea as to how to go about this. _You can do this, Regulus._

"Harry, mate; it was just a dream. Whatever you saw; it wasn't real." He tried to console the boy in his most soothing voice. How the hell was one supposed to comfort a child? An idea came to his mind. Maybe this would work; after all, Sirius did it all the time. Reaching out; he gently scooped the boy into a hug, holding him close. "It was just a dream. It can't hurt you." He murmured, pleased when Harry relaxed against him.

"Why don't you go back to bed? Sirius will be back tomorrow morning; you want to be awake when he's home, right?" Regulus asked. The boy nodded but didn't budge from his spot. "Can I stay here tonight?" He asked.

Regulus didn't know how to reply to that request. He liked his space. He wasn't the sort who cuddled. "I promise I won't make a noise. I won't even take up much place." Harry pleaded, not wanting to be alone. After much reluctance; Regulus agreed. "Alright kiddo, come on in."

Harry practically jumped over him and dived right under the covers; occupying the very centre of the bed. Regulus lay down as well and pulled the comforter over himself.

The next morning when he woke up; a small hand was gripping the front of his shirt and a slight form had snuggled up against him. Trying not to coo at the adorable sight before him; he gently extracted himself from Harry's hold and got out.

As he watched the steady rise and fall of the boy's chest; he understood the kind of protective instincts that Sirius had towards Harry. He'd do anything to keep the boy safe.

Later that day, after breakfast; Sirius was back. Harry wasted absolutely no time in giving the man a very enthusiastic welcome. Laughing, Sirius picked the pup up and hugged him close.

"Hey pup. Did you miss me?" He asked, ruffling Harry's hair. The child nodded vigorously, elated to have his father back home. "So, were you good for Uncle Reggie?"

Harry looked at Regulus and then back to his father. "He was perfectly good." Regulus spoke for the boy. Sirius grinned widely; having noticed the tired expression on his brother's face. "Well then little one, in that case, your surprise is waiting in my trunk, right on top." He set Harry down and propelled him towards the living room with a playful swat to the boy's behind. The child bounded over to the hallway where the trunk was there.

"So, how was the experience?" Sirius asked with a smirk. "The lad's a handful; I'll give you that. But he's an adorable little handful." Regulus replied. "Aww. Aren't you getting soft? I can see that he clearly tired you out. Is that a grey hair?" Sirius teased.

"Haha. Hilarious. Anyway, now that you're back; the little troublemaker is all yours." Regulus replied, although his eyes softened a bit. Personally, he felt that kids were a lot of time and energy. But when it came to one particular kid, he was willing to invest that time and energy. "He positively adores you, you know."

Sirius grinned fondly when he saw Harry come running back into the living room, clutching a bag of candy in one hand and a plush toy in the other; his green eyes shining delightfully.

"He's my little troublemaker after all. I wouldn't have it another way."


End file.
